Because
by maybe now
Summary: You know that people talk about you.  To be more specific, you know they talk about you and him, you two, together.


**AN:** So... this is entirely different and new to me. If you've read any of my other stuff, this is nothing like it. For one, second-person all the way. Two, it's short. Three, it's Neji/Tenten, though it's a pairing I love. Four, it's pretty much just drabble.

I think I like it, but since it's so new, I have no idea if you will too.

So, pretty much I want you to read it.

But more importantly, I want you to **review**. Tell me what you think, please.

* * *

**because**

You know that people talk about you.

To be more specific, you know they talk about you and him, you two, together.

Your heart twitches in that weird way, whenever your well-tuned, well-trained ears pick up threads of conversation as you, sometimes you and him, walk in the village.

Your heart leaps and sinks, but mostly sinks, as he—when it's sometimes you and him, not just you—rolls his intriguingly pale eyes, his scoff still somehow dignified as he hears what you hear as well, and you inwardly grimace, wishing you could go up to that gossiping girl and say **'**_not quite._'

But you don't.

You follow his lead, roll your eyes as well, make some derisive comment about how people can be so assuming and stupid, and he utters an agreement.

You follow his lead, because you are friends, you are his friend, you are his friend when you know he doesn't have many, and you are his only female friend, that you know of.

That should be enough, and you know that you—even if you say nothing of it—hold this fact, that you are the one female he trusts, high over any other girl's head.

You are the one he trusts, the one he walks through the village with.

Sometimes though, sometimes, on bad days, on days when you let your heart take the better of you, when you stop listening to the logic in your head—

_Partners in combat should not be in relationships_—

you think, _why shouldn't we?_

On those days, the bad ones, that's when you let yourself mull over stupid dreams and desires. Of things that will never happen.

Because there can't be a we if there is no him, and you know, you just know there isn't a him.

You think you know, because, even on the bad days, you still listen to your brain, if even somewhat, and in your brain, there is no way that anything beyond friendship is possible for Tenten and Hyuuga Neji.

On good days, though, friendship is enough.

He's someone that's always challenged you, in every way, and maybe that's why you're attracted to him so much—you've always been known to love a challenge.

Becoming friends with Hyuuga Neji was something that was never easy, but something you'll always be proud of. He had been the genius of their Academy class, the most focused, the most driven, even beating you in these areas, something that made you curious about him, _attracted_—

You'd been placed on the same Genin team as him, along with a hard-to-handle, hyperactive pair consisting of Lee and Gai-sensei, and it was natural that you and him would look to each other.

Becoming friends with Hyuuga Neji had never been your first priority, your main goal in life, but along the way, necessity to stay sane drove you together.

Through training and studying, slowly he wormed his way into your heart.

Sometimes, on bad days, you could never forgive him for this, because it ruined the perfect friendship and trust they had, at least for you, when you always were wishing for more.

You hope and wish, on good and bad days, that at least you mean something, even if only a little, to him.

On good days, you hope that he values your company and input, your relentless training habits that rival his own, the way you always protect his blind spot, just because you know he needs you to even though he would never ask.

On bad days, you wish, fervently, that he cares for you. You wish—foolishly, you know, because in your profession, you should never be so rash to wish for something so entirely possible—that if you were injured, that if you were grievously injured, he would hold you, run back to the Village with you in his arms, sit and wait for you at the hospital, and show the same level of devotion and love that you would give him were the situations reversed.

It's a silly thing to wish for and you know it.

He would say, _Don't tempt fate_, but your stomach burns with curiosity, you're dying to know, how would you slipping away affect him—

Logic smacks the face of your heart across the cheek, hard. You're teammates, very good friends—of course he would be torn up, he would care, he would willingly carry you back, wait for you.

You know that secretly, what you would really wish for is a confession, but that is something you know you'll never get.

You and him, you're often admired for your teamwork.

You do really compliments each other brilliantly, like you were made for each oth—

You work well as a team while in combat.

Your skills balance each other. You attack long-range, he attacks short-range. There is no escape, no advantage in any different distance when you two are the opponent.

Years of training make thinking unnecessary as you fight, your body instinctively knowing his actions and reactions, and molds your movements accordingly.

According to his lead.

You two are famed for your partnership. Missions are specifically given to you because of it.

And often, it frustrates you, confuses you so much, because how can people so well suited for each other not feel for each other?

You hardly dare yourself to hope, telling yourself that you're making things up, makings things out of nothing just because you wish it were so, but sometimes, you do.

Because, sometimes, when he smiles, you know it was just for you.

And you hold on to that, that moment, that smile, like you're the only one he's ever given it to, because sometimes, you just would like to pretend.

Sometimes you wish he would only have eyes for you.

Sometimes, you think he does.

You let yourself think about the possibility of him returning your affection, if affection was the right word, because really, this ran so much deeper than that, but love as hardly the word of a ninja…

You wonder if sometimes, he thinks of this, thinks of you, thinks of you and him, together, too.

You quickly shut that down though.

No he doesn't.

No he couldn't.

Because you are Tenten, and you are his friend.

In the future, you can't help but think he will find someone who makes him smile more than you do, who makes him happy, who is somehow more right for him than you are.

She will be a Hyuuga, and she will be all types of right for him.

But then, one day, after a hard mission, one you—collectively—barely scraped through, he looks at you and takes your hand—something he's never done before.

You can see it in his eyes, the seriousness—he knows what he's doing, how could he not, as calculating and cool-headed as he is—and the fingers on his other hand trail lightly down your face.

And you never want him to stop.

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**AN:** So... how did I do? Did you like it? Was it alright? I wrote this in an hour- usually my fics can take me weeks... But maybe that's what I like about this. It's raw, it jumps around, like her thoughts would.

**But I want to know what you think. Please leave me a review**, I don't know if this style is something I should continue delving in to.


End file.
